Hope You liked the last post! As You know, just two seeds of
Indian Coral tree have lead to the foundation of Gifting Trees. And after
witnessing the growth of tiny, delicate buds from seeds, it eventually became
my habit to collect seeds, pods or fruits of Native trees wherever I go. It not
only helped me in learning nursery techniques but in identifying various tree
species also!
The world of seeds is very fascinating. It’s really
wonderful to see or witness how a dead-like tiny seed transfers into a sapling
and then into a large tree! As an amateur, I was unaware of different seed
treatments that have to be done prior sowing to increase the germination
percentage. With trial and error, I am still learning the interesting aspects
of seeds.
With time we also realized that it is much easier and
cheaper to make the seeds germinate and grow your own saplings for plantation.
It's better to sow the seeds in poly-bags first and not directly at planting
site as the young saplings need to be taken care of. For poly-bags, there are
number of commercial products which comes in poly-bag packaging. One can reuse
them for Green purpose!
There are seeds which do not require any pre-sowing
treatment. Just keep them on the soil and they will germinate. For example,
seeds of Mango, Pongam, Palash, Mahua etc are very easy to germinate.
Few seeds do not respond to mere sowing and watering. They
require hot water or cold water soaking or scratching before sowing for
germination. For example, seeds of Wild Date Palm, Semal, Babool etc should be
immersed in the cold water & kept overnight before sowing for better
germination. In Gifting Trees’ trees-related posts, I made it sure to mention
the seed treatment whenever necessary. It might be helpful for those who want
their own grown saplings.
Here are few photographs our own saplings..
Saplings of Neem and Puple Orchid tree
Saplings of Palash
Saplings of Mango
The saplings should be at least one year old before they are destined to the plantation site. This helps in preventing the mortality.
Seeds come in number of shapes, colors and sizes. A few small seeds have the power within them to feed a family; a fistful of seeds, the whole community. Our future depends on saving the traditional diversity of seeds around us..! Its amazing what a seed can grow! Only there is need to visualize a tree or plant in it.
